Emily in Sicily

This last week really drained the life out of me. I had an amazing time on the trip though. We had heard rumors that the Sicily trip would really shake things up. More than a straight week with the same 40 people, having class every day, and traveling by bus a minimum of 2 hours per day... Che intenso! (This is not really a legitimate Italian phrase, but instead one that my friend Nikki came up with.)

I saw some of the most well preserved Greek temples in the world, as well as the scenery from almost all of Sicily, swam in the Mediterranean, and ate even more amazing food. We stayed at some pretty nice hotels, some pretty regular hotels, and a couple that didn't have enough hot water in the morning for the 40 Centristi that needed to shower. The weather was nice for the entire trip which made the daily excursions up hills, through temples, into theaters, etc. very enjoyable. I did miss having potable water at my disposal, however. I probably spent a small fortune on bottled water during the trip.

This isn't really the full story of my Sicily trip, I'll try and be more in depth when I get back. The past week essentially fried my brain. Some people actually left from Naples after our ferry got in from Sicily, and a few left Saturday afternoon (when we had just gotten back Saturday morning). Leaving tomorrow morning is hard enough, and I really really want the power to suspend time for a few days and just recover from the trip. As it is, I'm so excited to see Greece. Athens should be a great experience, and I've heard lots of positive things about Nafplion, the smaller city we're spending a few days in.

Here are a few pictures from my trip. I'll have more when we get back from Greece.

Here I am standing in from of a Greek temple. It is of the Doric order if anyone is interested. The columns are fluted and have substantial entasis. This particular temple is in Paestum but we saw a lot of them...

Here I am in Taormina, our first stop in Sicily. Although it's cloudy in the background you can make out some of Mt. Etna.

This is Libby and me at the Castle of Euryalus in Siracusa. You can see a little bit of the amazing view behind us.

And here's Sully, happy to see me home. Just as they decided we didn't need fans, they decided we needed heavier comforters, which can also be seen in this picture.

I hate to go MIA again but we leave in the morning for another week! I'll hopefully find more time to write a few specifics about both trips. So look forward to Emily in Greece!